As the Biden administration prepares to release its National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy, observers are searching for clues on how those reviews will grapple with the framework of “great-power competition” that anchored the previous administration’s high-level policy documents. That framework has achieved substantial bipartisan traction in the intervening …
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Suspected suicide bombers strike in northwest Syria near Turkish border
At least three people were killed on Thursday in a series of explosions including two suspected suicide bombings in northwest Syria near the Turkish border, witnesses said, in the first such attacks this year. A rescue worker said one civilian was killed after an improvised explosive device went off in …
Read More »NATO Is Focusing on the Wrong Russian Threat in Eastern Europe
As NATO has focused its attention on Russia’s offensive military capabilities in Eastern Europe, an equally significant and, in practice, more problematic issue has been largely ignored: Russia’s preponderance of “anti-access, area-denial” capabilities in the borderlands between the Baltic and Black Seas. Is NATO focusing on the wrong Russian threat …
Read More »The Myths and Realities of European Security in a Post-INF World
On Feb. 2, the United States formally declared its intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF, treaty. The official declaration, which had been signaled by the Trump administration well in advance, set the clock ticking: Unless Russia unexpectedly returns to full and verifiable compliance with the treaty …
Read More »Rockets Possibly Fired by Pro-Iran Assailants Target U.S. Embassy in Iraq
Four rockets were fired at the fortified compound that houses the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and suspicion fell on pro-Iran militias. Four rockets targeted the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday night, the latest in a series of aerial attacks amid Iranian threats and political violence as Iraq’s factions struggle …
Read More »How a Huge New Gas Pipeline Boosts Russia’s Strategic Entente With China
Natural gas started flowing from Russia to China for the first time on Dec. 2 when Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, officially launched the initial phase of a huge new pipeline known as the Power of Siberia. Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy giant, claims it is expected …
Read More »As the U.S. Disengages, Russia Ramps Up Aid and Arms Sales to Sub-Saharan Africa
In early March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov embarked on a five-country tour of sub-Saharan Africa. During his trip, Lavrov signed new trade agreements with Russia’s two long-standing partners in southern Africa, Angola and Mozambique. He also strengthened Moscow’s diplomatic ties to Zimbabwe’s new government and highlighted the role Russia …
Read More »Putin Wants to Rewrite the End of the Cold War
When the Soviet Union collapsed three decades ago, the European security architecture suddenly became uncertain, its future put in play. After all, much of the postwar balance of power in Europe—and the world—had rested on the icy pillars of the Cold War, pillars that in 1991 abruptly melted. It didn’t …
Read More »Republican Bill To Impose Sanctions On Nord Stream 2 Businesses Fails In U.S. Senate
Democrats in the U.S. Senate have defeated a bill that would have slapped sanctions on businesses involved in the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. The bill, sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz (Republican-Texas), needed at least 60 votes to pass. It was defeated by a vote of 55-44 on January …
Read More »U.S. Senate To Vote On Republican-Backed Nord Stream 2 Sanctions Bill; Democrats Propose Rival Legislation
The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote this week on a bill sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz (Republican-Texas) to slap sanctions on the operators of the Nord Stream 2 natural-gas pipeline in Europe. Cruz struck a deal with Democrats last month to get a vote on the sanctions bill by …
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